Whether you’re planning to smoke chicken, beef, pork, or fish, choosing the right type of firewood for cooking is essential to achieve the perfect flavor.
If you smoke meat using only charcoal, then you are missing out. While charcoal is excellent for grilling meat at high temperatures, only high-quality wood offers that delectable smoky flavor we all know and crave.
Smoking wood chunks are especially useful for smoking meat because of their size.
Measuring 2 inches on average, they produce lots of amazing flavorful smoke whether placed near a heat source, such as a bed of charcoal or if used individually.
As the wood chunks burn at a low temperature, they release flavor compounds in the form of smoke while subsequently injecting your meat with new flavors.
Where to Buy Wood Chunks for Smoking Meat
Now that you know the benefits of using wood chunks to smoke meat, you might be wondering where to buy them — that’s where Cutting Edge Firewood comes in.
As the premier provider of top-quality firewood and wood chunks, we have various smoking wood chunks to help you cook unforgettable dishes from the comfort of your backyard.
What You Need to Know About Smoking Meat
Smoking meat for flavor and preservation has existed for centuries, likely from the same time our ancestors started experimenting with fire and food.
Though there are several methods of smoking meat, the most popular — and the one we’ll talk about today — is called hot smoking.
Hot smoking is when you cook and smoke a cut of meat simultaneously using a smoker or grill to create a tender, succulent dish infused with smoke flavor.
Today, smoking food is an integral part of many cultures and culinary traditions around the world.
In addition to meat, you can smoke things like fruit, cheese, vegetables, and even some types of dessert, making it a versatile cooking method for all.
Can I Use Any Wood for Smoking Meat?
Though it all looks and burns similarly, different species and cuts of wood produce vastly different results when ignited.
Before smoking meat with wood chunks, you must ensure it is properly treated, certified for culinary use, and safe to use in a smoker or grill.
The most effective way to ensure your wood is suitable for smoking is by ordering from a trusted distributor like Cutting Edge Firewood.
What Flavors Do Wood Chunks Come In?
Smoking wood chunks come in various flavors, meaning you can easily find the perfect taste for your next recipe.
Choose a classic barbecue favorite like hickory or apple, or create your own unique blend of smoke by mixing and matching different chunks for an unforgettable experience.
At Cutting Edge Firewood, you’ll find the following wood chunk flavors:
- Apple Smoking Wood Chunks
- Cherry Smoking Wood Chunks
- Hickory Smoking Wood Chunks
- Maple Smoking Wood Chunks
- Pecan Smoking Wood Chunks
- Oak Smoking Wood Chunks
Not sure which one to choose? Try a smoking chunk variety pack, which features some of our customer-favorite pecan, cherry, hickory, and oak chunks.
Why Cutting Edge Firewood’s Wood Chunks Are The Best Option Available
You may discover roadside vendors in or around your location who sell wood smoking chunks, but think twice before purchasing them.
While these sellers may tout their smoking chunks as being high quality, you really won’t know how their wood performs until you cook with it.
In most cases, other vendors’ smoking chunks come from low-quality varieties of softwood trees, or rotting hardwoods resulting in less flavor than Cutting Edge Firewood’s high-quality smoking chunks.
Another reason to avoid purchasing smoking chunks from others is that very few companies who correctly dry their wood before selling it.
By not investing the necessary time or energy to correctly dry their wood, their wood smoking chunks are left with high moisture content and will not burn efficiently, nor will they produce the same amount of flavorful smoke as Cutting Edge Firewood’s kiln dried smoking chunks.
Benefits of Using Smoking Chunks From Cutting Edge Firewood
Cutting Edge Firewood has the smoking wood chunks you need for optimal performance and value.
We offer various high-quality smoking chunks, all carefully crafted and expertly dried in our high-heat kiln.
No matter which flavor profile suits your tastes, rest assured that our wood will inject your meat with delicious, flavorful smoke.
All our smoking chunks average about 2 inches, the ideal size for an even cook.
Best of all, Cutting Edge Firewood can ship smoking chunks to any address in the Continental United States.
Whether you live on the East or West Coast or somewhere in the middle, we’ll ship your smoking chunks straight to your home.
What does this mean for you? Less time driving store to store and more time relaxing by your grill or smoker.
Tips for Choosing the Right Smoking Chunks for Smoking Meat
Once you have the perfect recipe in mind, it’s time to choose your smoking wood for the smoker. When browsing wood chunks, remember to:
- Buy from top-quality, reputable firewood and wood chunk distributors.
- Consider the type of meat you’re smoking and the desired flavor profile when selecting your wood chunks.
- Stick with chunks, as we do not recommend cooking chips — they are too small and quickly burn to ash, leaving no flavor behind.
- Only choose kiln dried smoking chunks rather than seasoned-only, as this ensures your wood will be free of fungus, mold, and rot.
Which Flavor Is Right for My Dish?
The right wood flavor can transform your dish, and certain flavor profiles pair better with specific meats.
For example, the top types of wood for smoking chicken are maple, apple, and pecan, while cherry and oak are popular choices for brisket or beef.
If you’re smoking fish, apple, maple, and hickory pair with it perfectly. For pork dishes, opt for apple, cherry, and hickory.
What Are The Best Types of Wood Chunks for Smoking Meat?
Not all types of wood are suitable for smoking chunks.
If you harvest the wrong kind, it could result in low-quality smoking chunks that inject your meat with an unpleasant flavor.
Many softwoods, for example, have a bitter taste when burned. When used to smoke meat, they’ll inject your food with this same bitter flavor.
Hardwood vs Softwoods: Enhancing Flavor Quality
Hardwoods are usually preferred over softwoods because they have a sweeter, more pleasing flavor that compliments most meats.
Even if you have access to wood, you must cut the wood into small, 2-inch chunks, which requires high-precision cuts that are difficult to make using a chainsaw.
Drying the Wood Chunks for Smokers to Maximize Flavor Profile
Furthermore, you must dry your wood chunks before you can use them to smoke meat.
Unless you have access to a drying kiln, you’ll have to use the air-drying method, which can take six to 12 months.
For most home chefs, that’s simply too long to wait, especially when there’s a new recipe you’re waiting to try or a special event approaching.
Another common concern when relying on seasoned cooking wood is that it’s vulnerable to rot, insects, and mold — none of which sound very appetizing.
An easier, faster, safer, and all-around better method to get smoking wood chunks is to purchase them from Cutting Edge Firewood.
We offer complimentary shipping on our cooking chunks nationwide, making it easier than ever to cook your favorite foods!
Tips for Smoking Meat With Wood Chunks
If you already have some wood chunks — or are eagerly awaiting their arrival — there are a few important things you should know about smoking with them:
- Avoid soaking: You should never soak your wood chunks. This will only reduce the temperature of your fire and create steam.
- Time it right: Add your quality wood chunks just before adding your meat or veggies. Good chunks will ignite quickly and burn slowly, providing you with delicious wood flavor throughout your cook.
- Decide on your heat source: When using charcoal as your heat source, you typically only need two to three of our chunks to provide flavor. Alternatively, you can cook with nothing but wood chunks. Oak is usually the best type of wood for this cooking style because of its mild flavor, but you can use oak as a base and then add other species for flavor.
Get Nationwide Delivery for Cutting Edge Cooking Chunks
Shop Cutting Edge Firewood’s smoking chunks to get high-quality wood delivered straight to your door.
All wood chunks are packaged with care, and they come ready to smoke upon arrival!
Most orders are also eligible for complimentary shipping. Contact us to learn more or browse our selection of wood chunks for smoking today!
